We're home and settling in!

It still doesn't seem real that I am now the mother to two beautiful children. To fill you in on the details of Braewyn's birth, here's a recap. I had been having contractions all day on Tuesday, but they just were not becoming constant enough for me to go to the hospital (or so I thought). I called my doctor and was reassured to not come until they were 5 minutes apart. I had an appointment at 8:15am on Wednesday so I just decided to go to sleep and see what I was measuring in the morning. Well, we obviously didn't make the appointment because I woke up at 3:30am having very serious contractions (walking to the bathroom, I had to stop and do the dramatic breathing while gripping the foot board of our bed!). I told Matthew we had to go to the hospital because I really needed some drugs fast.

When we arrived at 5:00am, I was shocked and terrified to be told that I was 9 centimeters dilated. The nurse said they would try to get me an epidural but couldn't promise it. She did give me a sedative-type drug which just made the room spin and took the edge off a little. Around 6:30am, I did receive the epidural and remember saying, "I thank the Lord for that man!" referring to the anesthesiologist. About 7:00am, my doctor, Dr. Bingham, said I was fully dilated and could start pushing. I tried several times but couldn't get it just right due to that druggy feeling from the first medicine. Dr. Bingham decided to let me sit up and let gravity pull Braewyn further down to make pushing easier. During that 30 minutes, I felt like I could really get her out if they would just let me squat beside the bed. Maybe I could deliver a baby in the field and then get back to work as we hear about women doing! Anyway, just before 8:00am, I began pushing again. I was making progress but Braewyn's heartrate was dropping during contractions. A few more pushes and a vacuum on her head and my beautiful baby girl was out in the world!

At Philip's birth I was overwhelmed with fear (I didn't know what to do with him), but this time I almost cried from joy. Knowing the wonderful times we've shared with Philip these last two years made seeing Braewyn that much more precious to me. I was stitched up (seemed to take forever!) and then given the chance to nurse Braewyn (another scenerio which I was much more comfortable attempting this time as it was familiar again after nursing Philip for a year).

We stayed in the hospital Wednesday, Thursday and left Friday morning at 11:00am. I had desired no visitors the first day as we really wanted Philip to have a good chance to bond with his new sister. It was a blessing as the entire time in the hospital, our local families and three other friends were the only guests. The day Philip was born we saw about 20 people that night! I love my neighbors and church friends, but they will all have many chances to meet Braewyn over the next few weeks.

This has been such a different experience than the time surrounding Philip's birth. Caring for Braewyn has been relatively stress-free (it really does come back) other than the lack of sleep and irritability that comes with it. Philip is such a loving brother. I did have tears streaming down my face when my parents brought him to the hospital Wednesday morning and he kissed "Baby Sister". He has since held her a few times, kissed her hands and feet over and over, and even sang "Jesus Loves Me" to her! He also asked her if she wanted to play ball. I know they will have lots of fun together through the years.



Thank you Lord for this new miracle in our lives. She is just perfect and another reminder of Your abounding love for us. I pray to follow Your direction in raising her and I pray she would come to love you, Jesus, as her own Lord and Savior.